Dark

She brushed the water with her fingertips. She played with the top of the current, and felt their movement beneath her. The water was alive with them. It had been so empty… the world had been empty… there had been nothing… for so long… so, so long.

What were they here for? They couldn’t be here for her. No one had come for her. No one would come for her, so why would they?

More stirring. Closer. They were closer now. The little raft bobbed with the writhing beneath her. She couldn’t see them. She hadn’t seen them. But they were there. She’d been so alone… so alone for so long… but now they were there… somewhere…

She sank her hand into the black water and felt sandpaper skin that instantly twisted away, sending a splash across her forearm. “Don’t go,” she whispered.

Suddenly there was nothing. Nothing again. They were gone. Like everyone else was gone. She flopped onto her back and felt the rise and fall of the ocean beneath her. The stars were incredible out here. She could see so many… so many millions and billions. It was like a painting, or a photograph from deep in the galaxy. It was like snowflakes before they fell. It was like fireflies in a field beneath a moonless sky. It was… it was… so lonely.

The plane had crashed. She remembered that much. The sinking sensation of falling, the screaming, the loss of breath as it was pushed from her lungs, the impact with the water. There had been six of them. Six had gotten out. She didn’t know how she did. One of them must have unbuckled her and pulled her free, because the next thing she remembered was the sun. That beating, burning, horrible sun. If she ever made it to land, she’d move to Seattle, and buy a winter home in Alaska. She never wanted to see the sun again.

One had died of his injuries, he was gone by the time she woke. Two had panicked and tried to swim after the third day. They never came back. One had simply given up. She stopped eating the rations that had been saved. She just wasted away. The last had drank sea water, desperate after days without hydration. He’d died several hours before the rain came, filling the empty buckets with fresh water. And then there was her. She had kept on living. The food had run out a long time ago, there wasn’t much water left, but still she continued to stare at the sky; burning by day and crying by night. At least, that’s how it had been. The tears had long since dried up.

There was a soft lapping of water against the side of the life raft and she bolted upright. Craning her head over the edge, she scanned the black water. Had it been a wave? Had she imagined it? She couldn’t see anything in the unlit water. “Please,” she murmured, “Come back.” But no one answered. Of course no one answered.

Suddenly, an idea touched her mind; bleak, dismal, and hopeful. If she climbed into the water, maybe they’d come back. Maybe they’d see her, or smell her, or something… anything. Maybe she didn’t have to be alone anymore. Maybe she’d feel them move around her. Maybe...maybe… maybe.

It happened before she knew what she was doing. Her mind was a haze, so much so that she barely even felt the bite of the icy water as it dug its talons into her skin. She dropped in, she sank, she sank, but then she floated. The air in her lungs pulled her upwards, and she could breathe again.

So far, she could feel nothing. No one had come. She was still alone. She was alone and her raft was being carried farther and farther away by the second, and she was too weak to swim. But the water felt so good… so numbing… so gentle…

Ripples. Ripples beneath her. The breath caught in her throat. Could it be them? Had they come back?

A fin rose above the surface of the water and dipped below again. Her heart leapt in her chest. They had come back. They were here.

Several more times the fin slipped into view, each time a little closer, as the curious creature circled her. They were huge. She hadn’t realized how huge they were. But… she wasn’t afraid… Come closer, she thought. Be with me.

And then there was light. It was blinding, overpowering, cruel. She twisted her body to see where it was coming from and her feet brushed against something alive. Startled, the creature recoiled and dove. She was alone again. Or was she?

“WOMAN! WOMAN OVERBOARD! THERE’S A WOMAN IN THE WATER!” a man’s voice screamed from beyond the light. “HOLD ON! WE’RE COMING TO GET YOU!”

She shielded her eyes with her bony hand and squinted as she feebly tread the brackish water. It was a dream. It had to be a dream. They weren’t really there, the boat wasn’t really there, the dingy paddling towards her wasn’t really there, it was just her and the shark, it wasn’t-

Firm hands grabbed her shoulder and arm before roughly hauling her into the dingy. “Hey… hey… are you still with us, ma’am? Talk to me…”

She collapsed, a limp shell of a person, into his lap. His face was barely illuminated in the floodlight. All she could see was an outline of a hooded figure that smelled of salt, fish, and fuel. She reached up and touched his cheek. It was rough, just like the shark’s skin. “Are you real?” she whispered.

“Uh… yes? At least… I hope so?” he chuckled nervously.

“Oh… that’s good…” And then there was darkness, dark as the water, dark as… as… death…

But later she opened her eyes. It was no longer dark. It was light. It was light and the blankets around her were scratchy, rough, jagged, cheap wool. But the wool was warm. She was warm. And there were voices. Voices. All around her. All around her... life. All around her… light.